S/O food... I need help with a situation

[stephm0188]

My MIL arrives next week for a visit. She brings her own food and
prepares her own meals while she is here, and they tend to be very...
fragrant.

I have a sewing business. I have a home studio with
hundreds of yards of fabrics and lots of finished goods. Fabric absorbs
smells, so I am very mindful of making sure I air out the kitchen well
after cooking. We run the exhaust fan, I burn a candle, and I open the
windows if I need to. This is something I do year round, not just when she visits.

This apparently offends her. She's been kind of
martyrish about it, saying that she just won't cook what she likes to
eat, or she'll cook and eat outside, or whatever. I have explained that
it isn't her, but she's already all butthurt and being weird before
she's even arrived. She can cook whatever the heck she wants. She won't eat anything we prepare.

Suggestions on how to deal with this? Also, I will probably DD this later.

[stephm0188]

Ugh. Sorry for the wonky formatting. IDK what happened there.

[hisno1girl]

Roll your eyes at her and tell her to go ahead and go outside while she eats??

This is your work we're talking about, not just some thing you decided to be picky about. Do what you normally do and ignore her dramatics.

[janiejones]

I think you just need to make a point of doing it when you cook too, so she gets that it's not about her/her cuisine.

[eb777888]

Yeah, I'd just let her be all butthurt. You've done all you can, I'm not sure what more you can do.

[RoxMonster]

I would just let her be a martyr if she wants. If you make a point to air it out, light candles, etc. when you are also cooking, she will see you are telling the truth, if it matters. I would let her continue to be butthurt about it because she's being silly.

[stephm0188]

She's asian and only eats asian cuisine. She brings cabbage in her carry-on because apparently the cabbage in Chinatown is superior to cabbage here.

Also, I apologize in advance for any "WTF" MIL stories/vents I may have next week.

[midnightrae]

Just let her be a martyr since there isn't much else you can do. If anything, just make sure she sees you do the same things after you cook as well. Also, superior cabbage? 

[annie8671]

She sounds like my mother. She brings her own fish sauce when she comes because her fish sauce is better than mine. Mind you, we use the same brand, she just buys hers at the Vietnamese store whereas mine is from a local Asian grocer. Good luck. I would let her be a martyr.

[Cioccolato]

Let her be and be happy you don't need to cook to her likes.

This is annoying though.

[muffin0]

Mar 4, 2013 0:01:38 GMT -5 annie8671 said:

She sounds like my mother. She brings her own fish sauce when she comes because her fish sauce is better than mine. Mind you, we use the same brand, she just buys hers at the Vietnamese store whereas mine is from a local Asian grocer. Good luck. I would let her be a martyr.

Please tell me you switch containers when she's there. 

[annie8671]

I do! Bf let it slip once and she said "hmm I thought it tasted off." I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they were going to roll out of my head.

[VillainV]

She sounds like the type of person who is going to get her feelings hurt no matter what you say or do. Like everyone else said, just do what you normally do. Maybe throw in a cursory, "You don't have to eat outside, really it's okay." Then let her do whatever it is she's going to do. If she wants to be dramatic about it, then I'm not sure anything you say or do will make a difference.